The present invention relates generally to area warning apparata and in particular to a collapsible warning barricade apparatus for restricting access to a designated area by vehicular and pedestrian traffic, in which at least an upstanding portion is capable of collapsing to a substantially ground surface-hugging position upon impact from traffic as well as capable of collapsing into a substantially flat position for transportation and/or storage.
Most of the barricades currently in use today are of the "A" frame design consisting of two sides which bolt together at the top. The barricade opens up to form the "A" frame configuration. Each side of the "A" frame barricade has a reflective panel affixed to it and usually another support below which is used to support a sandbag for ballast. Most of these barricade structures are made of either wooden or plastic panels supported by four steel legs. The panels are either bolted or riveted to the steel legs.
There are also some barricades in use today which have a single vertical member with a tubular bottom support. While some of these collapse through pivoting, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,695, none automatically lock, upon collapse, to prevent riding up into the undercarriage of a vehicle.
Since the barricades currently in use are often too light to withstand the wind created by vehicles passing by at high speeds, they are ballasted. Ballasting is usually done by means of addition of an extra weight, such as a sandbag being draped over the bottom support of the barricade. This adds the needed weight and allows the barricade to be held in place.
A problem which has often occurred in barricades currently in use today is that when they are struck by a passing vehicle, rather than collapsing into a substantially flattened position, they are often thrown violently into the air, striking anything in its path, and often causing damage to the barricade, as well as possible damage to the automobile and injuries to the automobile passengers or pedestrians. Furthermore, the damaged barricades usually need to be completely replaced as there are few truly interchangeable parts. In short, the barricades currently in use can be costly relative to damage to property and damage to the barricade itself.
Accordingly, an object of the proposed invention is to provide a barricade which can collapse upon impact, and lock in a substantially ground surface-hugging position so that the vehicle can pass safely over it. Since the barricade locks in this position, it will not bounce up and be hooked on the underside of the automobile and thus dragged down the highway.
A further object of this invention is to provide a barricade having barricade supports that will remain in relatively the same position occupied prior to impact, after impact from the moving motor vehicle. This feature is achieved by integrating into the support runners themselves, sandbag spurs to which a sandbag may be affixed and used for ballast, towards keeping the support runners in place during and after impact. As the top portion of the barricade is absorbing most of the energy and the bottom is held in place by the sandbags, the barricade does not have as great a chance to be thrown into a "live" lane of traffic.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a barricade in which the ballast or sandbag is not supported by any portion of the barricade which receives the impact from the moving vehicle. Since the sandbags are draped on the support runners which are in substantially ground surface-hugging positions, they do not add to the weight of the upright member, and the impacting vehicle is met with less resistance than when striking the types of barricades currently in use today. Such a construction further presents a lower center of gravity to the overall barricade construction.
Another object of the invention is to provide a barricade in which the reflective panels are recessed into their holders. This feature protects the panels from scratching during impact, transportation and storage, to result in cost savings for the barricade user, as well as better nighttime visibility of reused barricades, to vehicle operators.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a structure in which the barricade member, in its collapsed position, is hugging the surface of the road so as to be able to withstand the weight of the vehicle driving over it without significant damage, while simultaneously locked into place with the ground hugging barricade support.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a barricade structure that accommodates individual interchangeable components, unlike most other barricades, so that when breakage does occur, only the specific broken component needs to be replaced instead of replacing the entire barricade. This results in less cost to the barricade user.
Other objects of the invention include provision of a barricade that will collapse in either direction, which is also changeable, modularly, for conversion from one panel to a two panel configuration and back to one panel. This avoids the problem which occurs in current plastic barricades which have the reflective sheeting applied directly to a nonremovable panel. If two reflective panels are required, the reflective sheeting could otherwise be sacrificed when a one panel configuration was again required. Greater versatility of the proposed invention again benefits the barricade user in cost savings. Additionally, use of a sandbag at the bottom of the barricade precludes distortion of the barricade which may be caused by the weight of the sandbag, as opposed to barricades currently in use which often distort under the weight of the sandbag and which eventually bend out of regulation height. Again, this feature provides for safety and greater cost savings to the barricade user.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reference to the following specification drawings and claims.